We live near some tourmaline mines, which also have kunzite, aquamarine and garnets, and there's some creek beds in N. CA with benitoite. It's getting a lot tougher to find places to rock hound. The feds are making more and more places off-limits. It's rattlesnake country around here, too, 5 or 6 kinds. lol We tend to do this stuff in the winter, when the snakes are sleeping and it's cooler to be out in the sun for a few hours. Jan G. ----Original Message Follows---- From: "Sharon Workman" <workman@dreamscape.com> Reply-To: "Sharon Workman" <workman@dreamscape.com> To: BLACKSHEEP-CHAT-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [BSChat] Jan Garland and Jewelry Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2002 14:31:05 -0400 Jan and Sheepers, I've hunted for minerals and gems in lots of places - shores of Superior for agates, mountains in Maine for lots of things, western North Carolina for rubies and sapphires. Now THAT was the best. I filled a quart fruit jar with the corundum crystals, and many were gem quality. If you get a chance to go there, GO THERE! Watch where you step. That's rattlesnake country. Sharon IBSSG ----- Original Message ----- From: "J. Garland" <zippywebgenie@hotmail.com> To: <workman@dreamscape.com>; <BLACKSHEEP-CHAT-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, April 26, 2002 2:12 PM Subject: Re: [BSChat] Jan Garland and Jewelry > > Hi Sharon > > Do you mean going 'rock hounding' for gem material? Yes, it's neat to find > gem material but more uncommon. We're more into hunting mineral specimens, > not necessarily for faceting material. It's lots of fun. Gets us out in the > wild places, in to nature and away from the city. We also bring at least one > camera and take lots of photos. > > I knew about the alexandrites many years ago, but I started learning more > about the others during the past 6 years since I got married. It's an > interest that my husband and I have in common, and we've had a lot fun with > it. I've collected many mineral specimens and sell them on line now. I've > also collected some faceted stones, but I'm generally only interested in the > rarest ones, like alexandrite, benitoite, anything that color changes, which > includes garnets and sapphires (which, by the way, come in just about every > color of the rainbow, of which rubies are the red or pink variety), and just > odd things such as kornerupine, which is one color in one direction and > another color in another direction (bi-chroic). Iolite is like that too. > Anyway, what I know is just a drop in the bucket compared to what I have yet > to learn. <g> And finding some good stuff in person is a big thrill, just as > you say. I'm always interested in a good adventure. I do have to keep an eye > on my husband when we're in the back country. He takes more chances than I > do. <G> > > Jan G. > ==== BLACKSHEEP-CHAT Mailing List ==== Creative use of your delete key is encouraged. If you disagree with the subject, CHANGE the subject. ============================== To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com